Success factors of growth-stage digital health companies: A systematic literature review (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Digital health technologies (DHTs) have received increasing attention over the last decade, showcasing novel opportunities for the healthcare industry. This period has attracted substantial investment and revealed the challenges companies face in maintaining growth. However, to our knowledge, a systematic overview of the factors that drive success in growth-stage digital health companies is lacking, which limits our understanding of this important industry. OBJECTIVE This work identifies and discusses key factors that make growth-stage DHT companies successful. Specifically, we address three questions: (1) What are the success factors of growth-stage digital companies in general, and (2) digital health companies in particular? and (3) How do these success factors vary across DHTs. METHODS Following established PRISMA guidelines, a systematic literature review was conducted to answer the questions. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using management and medical literature databases: EBSCO, PubMed, ProQuest, Scopus and Web of Science. The review spanned scientific articles published from 2000 to 2023, employing a rigorous screening process and quality assessment using the CASP checklist. RESULTS Overall, 2,972 studies were screened, and 36 were included in the final analysis. We identified 52 success factors and categorized them into four internal factor categories (Product and Services, Operations, Business Models, and Team Composition), and six external factor categories (Customers, Healthcare Sytem, Government and Regulators, Investors and Shareholders, Suppliers and Partners and Competitors). Our findings reveal 19 success factors specific to growth-stage digital health companies. Also, success factors vary significantly across DHTs, highlighting each segment's unique challenges and opportunities. CONCLUSIONS Essential characteristics contributing to the success of growth-stage digital health companies have been identified. This work, therefore, fills a knowledge gap and provides relevant stakeholders, including investors and entrepreneurs, with a valuable resource that can support informed decision-making in investment decisions and, in turn, enhance the success of fast-growing digital health companies. Additionally, it provides the research community with a direction for future studies, enhancing the understanding, implementation, and growth of DHTs. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.05.06.24306674